Device for sealing bottles.



L. J. GREGELIUS. DEVICE FOR SEALING BOTTLES. APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 13,1910.

990,529. Patented Apr. 25, 1911.

I bY f O61 LOUIS J. CRECELIUS, OF

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIG-NOB OF ONE-HALF TO ERNEST C. JANSSEN, OF ST.LOUIS, MISSOURI.

DEVICE FOR SEALING BOTTLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Fatented Apr. 25, 1911.

Application filed June 13, 1910. Serial No. 566,523.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Louis J. GREOELIUS, a citizen of the United Statesof America, residing in the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for SealingBottles, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification.

My invention relates to a device for sealing bottles in which diskstoppers are used and is more particularly intended for use in sealingbottles in which milk and cream are placed for sale.

The most common method at present in vogue in the sale of milk andcream, especially in cities, is the placing of the milk or cream inbottles that are closed by the introduction into the mouths of thebottles of disks, usually made of paper, and which may be readilyextracted from the bottles when their contents are to be used by theconsumer. It is a well known fact that the contents of such bottles arefrequently tampered with by those by whom milk deliveries are made, sothat the customer of the milk merchant is defrauded, the most flagranttampering being that of the opening of the bottles by the personsemployed for making deliveries, the emptying or partial emptying of thecontents of the bottles, and the re filling of the bottles so that thecontents of them when delivered to the consumer are less valuable thanthe original contents. By the use of my sealing device, bottles of thekind referred to may be sealed in such a manner as to eliminate thepossibility of the bottle stoppers being removed without fur nishing atell-tale of such removal and provision is therefore made for theconsumer being advised of the bottles having been tampered with.

Figure I is a vertical section of my bottle sealing device shown appliedto a bottle as it appears in the act of sealing the bottle, the centralportion of the reservo r of the device being broken out. Fig. II is aninverted plan view of my device. Flg. III is an enlarged fragmentaryview of the nozzle of the device at the location of one of the valvecontrolled ducts. Fig. IV is a cross section through the reservoir ofthe device.

In the accompanying drawings (see Fig. I) :A designates the neck of abottle provided at its mouth with a stopper receiving recess B and C isa disk stopper located at the bottom of said recess.

1 designates the reservoir of my sealing device, at the upper end ofwhich is a cover 2 that is provided with an air vent 3 and has acentrally located neck 4. The neck 4% provides for the introduction of asuitable sealing substance, such as wax, that may include paraiiin, orbe of a nature similar to paraffin.

5 is a lid detachably connected to the neck 4: at the top of thereservoir and which is provided with a handle 6, through the medium ofwhich the sealing device is carried and manipulated.

At the lower end of the reservoir 1 is a nozzle 7 which is secured tothe body of the reservoir in an suitable manner and is preferably soattac ed to the body of the reservoir as to be detachable therefrom. Thenozzle 7 extends inwardly from the wall of the reservoir and is providedwith a central bottom portion 8, beneath the edge of which is an annulardistributing ring 9 that is preferably curved outwardly and upwardly atits lower surface, as seen at 10, Fig. I. In the bottom portion of thenozzle and extending through the distributing ring 9 are ducts 11, atthe upper ends of which are valve seats 12.

13 are valves adapted to occupy the valve seats 12 and capable of beingunseated by upward movement to permit the flow of substance from thereservoir and the interior of the nozzle 7 through the ducts 11. Eachvalve is provided with a stem 1& that extends downwardly through theduct in which the valve is located and is adapted to project beyond thelower face of the distributing ring 9 at the bottom of the nozzle 7. Thevalves are normally held depressed so that they occupy the seats 12through the medium of expansion springs 15 that are fitted to rods 16extending upwardly from the valves.

17 is a perforated diaphragm located within the upper portion of thenozzle 7 and between the lower face of which and the tops of the valvesthe springs 15 are located, thereby providing for the springs being heldunder restraint in order that they will serve to lower the valves totheir seats when pressure is not exerted against the lower projectingends of the valve stems 14c. The perforations in the diaphragm permit ofthe descent of the sealing substance through said diaphragm in orderthat such sealing substance may flow into and through the ducts 11; andit should be here noted that said valve stems are preferably made ofnon-circular shape in cross section, as seen in Figs. II and III, inorder that the sealing substance may readily flow around the stems todescend through the ducts occupied by them. The diaphragm 17 is held inplace in the nozzle 7 by fingers 18 projecting inwardly in the nozzle atits upper end; and to permit of the diaphragm being readily put in placeand removed from its seat in the nozzle when such removal is desired, Iprovide the diaphragm with notches 19 through which the fingers 18 maypass previous to the diaphragm being turned to the position seen in Fig.IV, so that said fingers will be present between the notches and act tohold the diaphragm from movement.

20 designates a guard located beneath the bottom and central portion ofthe nozzle 7 and within the distributing ring 9 of said nozzle. Thisguard is of circular shape and is loosely connected to the nozzle by ascrew or pin 21 that passes through the center of the guard and isseated in the bottom portion of the nozzle. The guard is preferably ofinverted cup-shape and its edge projects beneath the lower surface ofthe distributing ring of the nozzle 7. The guard is also provided with aconvex top surface 22 that opposes the flat surface at the bottom of thecentral portion of the nozzle, thereby providing for the guard partakingof a rock ing motion relative to the adjacent parts of the nozzle.

23 designates a burner located beneath the nozzle of my sealing deviceand attached to the reservoir or the nozzle in any suitable manner. Thisburner is adapted to have fuel, such as gas, delivered to it and when inoperation, the heat secured from one or more jets of flame from theburner serves to maintain the wax in the reservoir and in the nozzle ofmy sealing device in a hot and fluid state, in order that it may readilyflow through the ducts 11 in the nozzle when the valves 13 are unseated.

In the practical use of my sealing device, the wax present in the deviceis kept constantly heated through the medium of the burner 23 so that itis in a fluid state and the manipulation of the device involves only theapplication of the nozzle of the device to the mouth of a bottle inwhich a stopper has been placed in such a manner as to provide for thevalve stems protruding through the lower end of the distributing ring 9pressing against the stopper, and being moved upwardly to unseat thevalves 13 and permit the flow of sealing substance through the ducts 11and to the stopper adjacent to I its edge. This manipulation is readilyac-' complished by grasping the handle 6 of the device, and it will bereadily appreciated that only a momentary downward movement of thedevice is necessary to provide for the escape of the sealing substancethrough the ducts, and that when the device is lifted, the valves areautomatically closed due to the action thereupon by the springs 15. Asthe sealing substance escapes from the ducts 11, it is deposited on thestopper beneath the distributing ring 9 of the nozzle and pressed firmlyupon the top of the stopper and also outwardly to the wall of thestopper recess in the mouth of the bottle, with the result that thesealing substance adheres to the stopper and said wall to hold thestopper in place and prevent its removal Without detection of the factof its having been removed being possible. As the sealing substance isdeposited in the manner explained, its inward move ment beyond thenarrow space adjacent to the edge of the stopper is prevented by theguard 20 which rests against the top of the stopper due to itsprojecting beneath the bottom of the distributing ring, and it will beapparent that due to said guard being loosely attached to the bottom ofthe nozzle and being provided with a convex upper surface opposing thebottom surface of the central nozzle, said guard is free to rock oroscillate to a certain degree and consequently is caused to find theproper seat upon the. stopper, irrespective of whether or not the nozzleof the sealing device is presented in a straight line when applying itto the bottle that is to be sealed by the use of the device.

I claim 1. In a sealing device of the character described, a reservoir,a nozzle at the lower end of said reservoir having an annular sealingsubstance distributing member provided with a plurality of outletsextending di rectly therethrough, and valves in said outlets havingstems protruding beyond the lower end of said distributing member.

2. In a sealing device of the character described, a reservoir, a nozzleat the lower end of said reservoir, having an annular sealing substancedistributing member provided with a plurality of outlets extendingdirectly therethrough, valves for controlling said outlets, and a guardattached to said nozzle and located within said distributing member. 7

3. In a sealing device of the character described, a reservoir, a nozzleat the lower end of said reservoir, having an annular sealing substancedistributing member and provided with an outlet, a valve for controllingsaid outlet, and a guard attached to said nozzle and located within saiddisv yond the lower end of said distributing member.

4. In a sealing device of the character described, a reservoir, a nozzleat the lower end of said reservoir having an annular sealing substancedistributing member and provided with an outlet, a valve for controllingsaid outlet, and a guard located within said distributing member androckably connected to said nozzle.

5. In a sealing device of the character described, a reservoir, a nozzleat the lower end of said reservoir having an annular sealing substancedistributing member and provided with an outlet, a valve for controllingsaid outlet, and a guard arranged within said distributing member andloosely fitted to said nozzle, said guard being provided with a convexupper face.

6. In a sealing device of the character described, a reservoir, a nozzleat the lower end of said reservoir having an annular sealing substancedistributing member and provided with an outlet, a valve for controllingsaid outlet, a guard within said distributing member, and means wherebysaid guard is loosely connected at its center to the bottom of saidnozzle.

7. In a sealing device of the character described, a reservoir, a nozzleat the lower end of said reservoir provided with an outlet and having anannular sealing substance distributing member, a spring actuated valveoperable in said outlet, and a diaphragm within said reservoir abovesaid valve.

LOUIS J. CRECELIUS. In the presence of A. J. MOOAULEY,

B. LINN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

